Teach Languages Confidently, in a Flash!
What is Lightning Languages?
Looking for a simple, engaging, and flexible way to introduce Spanish and French to your learners? Look no further than Lightning Languages! Designed by language specialists, this adaptable scheme makes it simple for educators to dive into language lessons while ensuring children develop essential language skills.
Our units meet the statutory requirements for England, Wales, Scotland, and the Republic of Ireland (including the draft curriculum for 2025). Children will cover the fundamentals of language learning: vocabulary, phonics and grammar, all while building skills within reading, writing, speaking and listening, and developing cultural capital in every unit.
The scheme is designed across two progressive levels:
You can teach the units in any order that suits your schedule, although there’s also a natural progression built in for schools that want to follow a consecutive sequence. And when the full scheme is ready, we’ll provide suggested sequences to support your planning and implementation.
What resources are included and how can I use them?
Each Lift Off and In Orbit unit comes with a wide variety of resources and activities to give educators the maximum choice over how to teach languages. These include:
- a planning overview
- three to four PowerPoints
- a sentence building pack
- a three pillars video
- a culture video
- an activity booklet
- one or more interactive games
- an eBook or reading activity
- a song
- links to online teacher guides
- adaptive teaching resources
- assessment and tracking resources
These resources can be used on their own, or as part of the larger Lightning Languages scheme, allowing you to either build a complete language programme or simply supplement any existing schemes you’re already using.
Can I use Lightning Languages resources with younger learners?
For younger children (under 7s), we offer Sparks units. These units introduce Spanish or French in a fun and interactive way, using repetition, games, and songs to help build awareness of both languages and cultures. Perfect for early learners, these lessons can be used in the classroom, in lunchtime or afterschool clubs, or even as an introduction to additional languages.
The Sparks units are designed to give younger learners a head start before they move on to the Lift Off and In Orbit units. They can be taught in any order, but we’ve also included progression for those who prefer a step-by-step approach, revisiting key concepts like greetings and useful phrases as the children grow in confidence.
Will I be able to use these resources if I’m not a language specialist?
Of course! Our unit overviews and session plans provide detailed and comprehensive information and support to enable non-specialists to deliver our content with confidence. Each lesson contains clear instructions that do not require additional planning or preparation and all French and Spanish words and phrases are recorded by native speakers so you don’t need to worry about pronunciation.
For further support, take a look at the ‘Teacher & Leader Zone’ for CPD videos and helpful blog posts. You can also book onto one of our free monthly TeachMeets.
What membership do I need to download these resources?
To enjoy the Lightning Languages resources, you'll need access to our new curriculum schemes through a school account. Click here and scroll down to enter your details in the form. The Schools Team will be in touch to answer all your questions about the resources, pricing and the benefits of a school account.
Further Information
Take a look at some of our resources with our free Spanish and French taster packs and find out more about what is included in our helpful guide. If you have any further questions, please contact Twinkl Schools Team who are happy to help.